Transgenics and Babies
by pari106
Summary: An epilogue for CCC that can stand on its own. A look at Max and crew after she's given birth.


Consequences, Choices, and Confessions: Epilogue  
Six Transgenics, Two Vigilantes, a Physical Therapist, and a Penthouse Full of Babies  
by pari106  
  
Disclaimer, etc., in chapter 1.  
  
Author's note: I said there was only 14 chapters, didn't I? Well…this epilogue came   
along from somewhere so here it is. I warn you, though…it's a lot of sap. That's pretty   
much all…100% sappiness. And just for fun. But if you read it anyways tell me what   
you think (of course! :)  
  
Oh, and if you haven't read the first part of the story…that's okay. This stands alone   
pretty well.  
  
Epilogue…  
  
  
  
It was decidedly the most perilous situation Asha Copeland…or Barlow, or whatever   
other alias she decided to use…had ever happened upon in her short, little life.  
  
Surveying the wreckage that was once Logan Cale's pristine penthouse apartment, she   
almost felt tempted to pull her gun. But…that would hardly do her any good in this   
circumstance.  
  
Instead she just grinned, leaning against the doorframe of the guest bedroom when she   
came to it, and crossing her arms. Watching the three men inside carrying on without   
having even noticed her.   
  
To say they were not at their best would be a kind understatement.  
  
Logan's usually disheveled hair was even more disheveled than usual. Asha didn't know   
where his glasses had gone to, and his clothes were covered with a white, powdery   
substance that had also, somehow, ended up in his hair. Zack wasn't even wearing a   
shirt, and he had the most panicked expression on his face that Asha could imagine   
belonging to someone who was usually so stoic.   
  
"I can't hold this much longer, Zane, so if you don't do something fast…I'm letting go,"   
he was saying, seriously.  
  
"No!" That came from Logan, while Zane, intent on his mission, expression intense,   
didn't even look up from his work. He seemed rather haggard himself, but his tone of   
voice was hopeful.   
  
"Just give me a minute," he mumbled. And then, grinning, "There…if that doesn't do it,   
nothing will."  
  
The men stepped back, and Zane held up their masterpiece… One baby, double   
diapered. The diapers were reinforced by a combination of duct tape and industrial   
strength masking tape. And the infant in Zane's hands just stared at him, blankly. Then   
she cooed.  
  
Logan sighed and Zack shook his head. "If *this* diaper comes off…that's it. We're   
taking it back." Meaning the baby. Logan and Zane smiled, and Asha burst into   
laughter, catching the men's attention once and for all.  
  
"I don't think Metro Medical has a return policy, Zack," she quipped.  
  
"Asha!"  
  
When Logan saw her, his eyes lit up and his posture relaxed. Asha just smiled. She'd   
been an associate of Eyes Only's, and a friend of Logan's, for a couple of years now. But   
they'd only recently begun working together on more regular terms, since Max had had   
to take a sort of maternity leave from her work with the informant net. Which meant that   
Asha had recently begun spending an awful lot of time with Logan, both on and off the   
job. Now she wondered what it would be like to see his eyes light up like that for her for   
reasons that had nothing to do with wanting to get away from his troublesome infant   
guests.   
  
'Don't go there, honey,' she thought then.  
  
Meanwhile, Zane and Zack seemed to have similar reactions to her arrival, as well, and   
Zane turned, offering the baby to her.  
  
"Asha! You showed up just in time."  
  
'Just in time to save my ass,' he was thinking. When he signed up for this whole "Uncle   
Zay" business, he didn't realize that there was so much manual labor involved. He was a   
nervous wreck. And three men and a baby…even if two of those men are transgenic…do   
not for a peaceful afternoon make.   
  
But Asha just took two steps back, raising her hands and shaking her head with a laugh.  
  
"Oh, no…uh-uh…what makes you think I'm any good with children?"  
  
"You've gotta be better than us," Zack mumbled, crossing his arms. Logan came to her   
side, and he was so frazzled he actually reached out and grabbed her by the forearms.   
  
"I'm begging you, Asha…help us, please."  
  
Asha laughed again. Then something occurred to her, and her expression changed just as   
a hand flew to cover her nose and mouth.  
  
"Oh, God!"  
  
The men immediately tensed.  
  
"Asha, what is it?"  
  
Beneath her hand, Asha's nose wrinkled but her lips curved.  
  
"Logan…I never thought I'd say this, but…you smell *bad*."  
  
Silence. And then laughter.  
  
Logan looked sheepish, but he smiled, too.  
  
Zane shifted the baby girl in his arms, and patted Logan on the back.  
  
"Yeah, 'ha ha'," Logan drolled.  
  
Zack grinned. "Transgenic reflexes," he explained, walking over to Zane and rubbing his   
daughter's belly. "You should never mess with a transgenic if you don't have them.   
Even a little transgenic."  
  
Looks were exchanged behind Zack's back at the sight of the tough soldier rubbing a   
baby's stomach. The pride in his gaze when he looked at the child was unmistakable.  
  
Neither was the odor that, obviously, didn't belong only to Logan.  
  
"Uh, Zack…I hate to say this," Asha began, wondering where she found the courage to   
talk this way with the intimidating X5, but not being able to resist, "But you don't smell   
so hot, either."  
  
Logan raised an eyebrow with a knowing smile. "Yeah, Zack, what was that about   
transgenic reflexes?"  
  
Zack didn't dignify the comment with a response, but his look was disapproving. Zane   
leaned over and whispered in Asha's ear.  
  
"I think we're going to have to burn the shirt he was wearing earlier."  
  
Then Logan intervened, patting Zack on the back. "Come on, "daddy". I'll let you use   
the shower first. You need it."  
  
Zack scowled, but the two men left the room. Asha laughed as she watched them go.  
  
"Hard to believe one little baby can make such a big mess," Zane was musing. And Asha   
raised a brow.  
  
"That was just from one of them?" she asked. Then she realized there weren't any other   
babies in the room. "Where are the others?"  
  
Just then, Logan's door crashed open.  
  
"Zack! You son-of-a…"  
  
Suddenly Asha was left wondering which sight was funnier… The one that had greeted   
her when she found Zack, Zane, and Logan… Or the sight of Krit, stumbling through the   
front door, one baby strapped to his chest, and the other to his back… Bags of diapers   
and formula clutched in each hand, practically bursting at the bottoms.   
  
Zack and Logan came running back into the main room, hearing the commotion. They   
stopped when they realized it was only "Uncle Krit", back from shopping with one of his   
nieces and one of his nephews.  
  
Zane frowned, glancing back at the closed door to Logan's bedroom.  
  
"Shhh, man. You're gonna wake up the other two."  
  
Krit was not concerned. He let the groceries fall where they may, and strode over to   
Zack, glaring daggers along the way. Zack and Logan were desperately trying to hide   
smiles behind not-at-all-convincingly-innocent expressions.  
  
"Zack, I'm gonna kick your…"  
  
Zack scowled. "Not in front of my kids, Krit."  
  
Looking miffed, Krit glanced down at the infants looking up at him from their holsters,   
and reconsidered.  
  
"…toush," he finished.  
  
Logan gave him a grin. "Did you just say… 'toush'?" But, then, valuing his mortality,   
he realized this was an unwise remark. So with a look at Asha, he retreated to the   
bathroom. Zane went to check on the others.  
  
"You told me babies were easy, Zack," Krit accused "You told me they were quiet. How   
the hell can something so small get so loud when it wants a bottle?"  
  
Zack exchanged a look with Asha.  
  
"And the shopping?" Krit continued to rant. "Do you know how many brands of diapers   
there are, Zack? And sizes. And formula? Who the hell needs seventeen different kinds   
of formula? You told me 'buy diapers and milk.' Was that some kind of joke?"  
  
Zack laughed. "What's wrong, Krit? Can't handle a couple of little babies?"  
  
Krit scowled. But then his brow furrowed and his nose wrinkled. "Hey…what's that   
smell?"  
  
Asha bit her lip to keep quiet as she began removing a baby boy from the harness on   
Krit's back. "Shut up," she heard Zack mumble. Then he left to find that shower Logan   
mentioned.  
  
Krit turned to Asha. "What did I say?" She just smiled.  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  
A couple of hours later, Bling called from Metro Medical. The doctor had given the final   
go-ahead to Max's release, and he, Syl, and Jondy were bringing "mommy" home to her   
babies. Zack had gotten them their own place on the outside of the city, but Logan had   
offered to let the family stay with him for the first week or so. That way they'd be closer   
to Max's doctor, and it would be easier for him, Asha, and Bling to help out until Max   
had recovered from the delivery.   
  
When Max got back to Foggle Towers, the men were finally decent…the penthouse was   
somewhat in order once again. The children were napping, and the X5s had ordered out a   
pizza and were in the kitchen with Asha and Logan. They all rushed to make a fuss over   
her when Max walked in. They had been ever since the doctor had told her, during her   
pregnancy, that she was actually having five babies instead of one. The wonders of   
Manticore genetics. Max couldn't decide who'd been more shocked by the news…her or   
Zack.   
  
'Definitely Zack,' she thought then, with a smile, seeing the look on her mate's face   
when the sound of a baby's cry reached the kitchen. Everyone in the vicinity stilled.  
  
And Max thought back to the day after the babies' birth. Zack had been there with her   
the entire time. He wouldn't even let the doctor talk him into going home to sleep at   
night, he just camped out in a chair there next to her bed. She'd spent the entire night   
that the babies had been born, even as exhausted as she was, staring at their five,   
beautiful faces, twirling the engagement band on her ring finger, and gazing lovingly at   
the man unconscious at her bedside. He'd been even more exhausted by the children's   
birth, Max imagined, than she had been. So, although he'd stayed in her room with the   
intention of keeping watch…a sentiment Max had to roll her eyes at, with practically a   
whole army of X5s on hand since her brothers and sisters had shown up…he'd fallen   
asleep before she had.  
  
The next morning she'd caught him trying to order one of the babies to go to sleep and   
stop crying before it woke the other four up.   
  
The nurses had made him go home after that. A fact for which Max was simultaneously   
disappointed and relieved. She loved having Zack by her side… But she was getting a   
little tired of the looks those nurses had been giving her babies' father. And Zack had   
looked so frazzled… Max didn't think he could have survived another hour around the   
newborns without some time to recoup and seek nutritional sustenance.   
  
A year ago, who would have thought that the two of them would be parents? And now   
they had five children in their family. Max was just glad they had so much help nearby.   
It was going to take them all a while to adjust to the family life.  
  
Logan saw the look on Zack's face, too, and sighed with a smile.   
  
"Don't get up," he told the X5, slapping him on the shoulder. "I'll check it out."   
  
A year ago, things were very different for him, as well. Who would have thought that he   
would ever consider himself a friend of Zack's? But his and Max's friendship had meant   
too much to the both of them for them to just drift apart because she was with Zack   
instead of him. And both the X5s had benefited from Logan's help and friendship since   
then. Now Logan supposed they were all a part of the same family. A family he was   
happy to be a part of. And one he'd realized could never have been between himself and   
Max as a couple.   
  
Asha stood, too, when Logan rose to go after the babies. "I'll go with," she offered.   
Logan smiled.  
  
And then he surprised the hell out of her by leaning over and kissing her on the cheek.   
"Thanks," he said simply, his voice a little lower and his eyes a little more intent when he   
looked at her than a simple 'thanks' required.  
  
Then he left the room. Finally, Asha left, too, with her mouth practically hanging open.   
Behind them, looks were being exchanged, and Max smiled to herself.  
  
'It's about time those two start figuring things out,' she thought.  
  
Jondy chuckled, but changed the subject. She knew the guys, who had hit it off with   
Logan right away, ribbed the man enough about the petite blonde everybody could see   
was crazy about him. She wouldn't have them picking on him now that he was finally   
thinking about making his move. He was a great guy…and Jondy really respected him   
for all the unnecessary help he'd given them all, especially considering the history he had   
with Max. She hoped he and Asha could make a go of things.  
  
"I guess the kiddos are through with their nap," she said.  
  
"Guess so," Max agreed with a sigh. She loved each and every one of her squirmy,   
wiggly little children. But if she'd thought she'd known intimidation before, she'd   
known nothing. Even Manticore was no match for an armful of fussy babies, who looked   
too fragile to be real, but cried too loud to be that fragile.  
  
"Yeah, but Max isn't," Zack piped in then. "Why don't you get some rest, Maxie?" he   
suggested. He was getting very good at that…suggesting rather than ordering. Or, at   
least, he was trying to get good at it. At least where Max and the babies were concerned.   
He figured it would be a wise move. If he ever tried ordering any one of them around, he   
was certain he would only be ignored.   
  
Max had to laugh, and she shook her head as Syl and Jondy exchanged knowing smiles.   
Big brother and his protective instincts were so predictable.  
  
"I just got out of the hospital, Zack. I've done nothing but rest all this time. The nurses   
wouldn't even let me lift a juice cup on my own."  
  
The friends and family members seated around the table had to laugh.  
  
"You mean those little bitty things?" Krit asked, referring to the nurses on call during   
Max's stay. "You let them push you around? You could have taken them, Maxie," he   
teased.  
  
Max rolled her eyes, but she laughed, too. Syl slapped Krit on the shoulder.  
  
"They were just doing their job, Krit," Zane told him, earning smirks from his siblings.   
Yeah, they were doing their jobs. When they weren't flirting with him or his brothers.   
No one was fooled as to the reason Zane was coming to their defense now, even if it was   
just in the name of fun.  
  
"And so am I," Zack said then, standing up. He gave Max a look and she sighed. The   
other X5s tried not to giggle.   
  
"Alright, alright," Max finally relented, letting Zack pull her to her feet.   
  
At least it gave her the chance to hold Zack's hand as he escorted her to the guestroom.   
They'd had way too few opportunities to touch over the past week. She maintained the   
charade of being irritated by Zack's overprotective tendencies, but secretly she enjoyed   
the chance to be alone with him for the time being.  
  
It was a sentiment Zack shared.  
  
When they got to the guestroom, and Max laid down, Zack laid down next to her.   
  
"Glad to see you're finally starting to listen to me," he teased, mostly just to fill the   
comfortable silence that had fallen upon them. So that it couldn't get *too* comfortable.   
Max had just gotten home from the hospital, after all. And they were in Logan's   
penthouse.  
  
"Hey!" Max protested the comment as Zack spooned her body against his, even as she   
snuggled into his embrace. "Maybe I would have listened more often if you'd been as   
good at asking instead of ordering as you are now."  
  
"Maybe I would have asked more often if I wasn't sure that your answer would always be   
no," Zack argued, even as he kissed Max on the top of her head. Their voices were soft   
and laughing and each of them smiled.  
  
Then Max's eyes narrowed. "You better watch it. You mess with this Mommy, you   
suffer the consequences."  
  
Zack laughed. And nuzzled Max's neck. "I'll choose to ignore that warning…since I   
tend to like the consequences of messing with you." Max rolled her eyes, but laughed,   
too. She thought of their children, their newfound relationship, and her smile became   
serious.  
  
"I have to confess…you do have a point."  
  
"Don't I always?"   
  
That comment earned Zack a pillow in the face, but other than that the two new parents   
had a nice nap as their brothers, their sisters, and their friends played with their children   
in the penthouse living room. 


End file.
